Couple forms foundation for NICU at UMass Memorial

Lindsay Webb-Mayhew described the period between May 9 and Oct. 15 of last year as the best and worst six months experienced by her and her husband, Patrick Mayhew.

It was time spent trying to soak up every minute of the life of their daughter, Sydney, after she was born at 24 weeks, weighing around 1 pound. They described the little girl they got to know so well as resilient, attentive, and always defying expectations. The nurses called her "feisty."

"She was so interesting; she just made people's day," Mr. Mayhew said.

Considered a "micro-preemie," Sydney spent her entire life in the care of the UMass Memorial Neonatal Intensive Care Unit before succumbing on Oct. 15. The Charlton couple was so impressed and grateful for the care their daughter received, they decided to start a foundation to raise money for the unit.

"The NICU was so amazing to us," Ms. Webb-Mayhew. "Their job is to take care of the babies, but UMass Memorial goes above and beyond. They were like parents to her in our eyes, they were so good."

The Sydney Meaghan Memorial Foundation's first event will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Auburn Elks Club, 754 Southbridge St. There will be raffles, music, food and a cash bar. All proceeds will go to the UMass Memorial NICU.

The event will also feature an address by UMass NICU's Dr. Stuart Weisberger, and will honor Dr. Francis Bednarek, chief of neonatology at UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center, who died earlier this month.

What started out as a routine doctor's visit in the spring of 2012 started what Ms. Webb-Mayhewb referred to as the couple's "journey" with Sydney.

At that visit, the doctor had her rushed to UMass Memorial after a blood pressure check showed Ms. Webb-Mayhew had pre-eclampsia. She said she didn't feel ill, except for retaining a lot of fluid. Since it was her first pregnancy, she didn't think anything of it. But as it turned out, she was very ill, and was at risk of a stroke that could have killed her and Sydney.

Several hours later, doctors were talking to her and her husband about saving her life and trying to save Sydney's. She was rushed into emergency cesarean-section surgery.

"It came to a matter of minutes," Mr. Mayhew said.

Mr. Mayhew and Ms. Webb-Mayhew said they were constantly surprised by their newborn daughter. They said doctors and nurses warned them before her birth that because of her being so early, her lungs might not be developed enough for her to cry — a silent baby would be normal, they told the couple.

"Well, she came out kicking and screaming," Mr. Mayhew said.

She went on to impress and endear herself to her parents and staff at UMass Memorial.

She endured several surgeries; one surgery intended to prevent blindness brought with it disclaimers from the surgeon that it could take much longer than expected because of movement by the baby.

"Forty-five minutes later, he comes out and says, 'Done,' she was great," Mr. Mayhew said.

She also bounced back quickly from what her mother described as an "oxygen deprivation episode" that could have led to severe brain damage.

All along, the couple said they felt their daughter was receiving top-notch care, and they were being taken care of along with their daughter.

"They became family to us," Mr. Mayhew said.

They said that near the end of Sydney's life, Dr. Weisberger came in to be with the family on a day off.

The couple met Dr. Bednarek around the fourth month of Sydney's life. They said that during one of Sydney's major "digressions," Dr. Bednarek stayed late with Sydney to perform duties that could have been handled by a nurse.

"He was trying to help us through it," they said.

He always had a warm demeanor and a smile, and had a good sense of humor, they said.

They kept close touch with him even after Sydney's death, and they said he was excited the couple had decided to start the foundation.

They went to the calling hours after he died, and said the lines were so long people were waiting for two hours to get into the funeral home. One couple brought their preemie, they said.

Mr. Mayhew and Ms. Webb-Mayhew said that since Sydney struggled so much with her lungs throughout her life, they hope to raise enough money through the foundation to fund the purchase of dedicated equipment for the NICU.

They said they have also talked to staff at the hospital about the possibility of having the money go to renovations for the family area at the unit, or even toward new camera technology that would enable parents to see their babies remotely when they have to leave the hospital.

"It would give parents the opportunity to see their baby all the time," Ms. Webb-Mayhew said.

They said some staff at UMass Memorial have said they plan to attend the event Saturday.

Ms. Webb-Mayhew said they were an important part of their lives.

"They fought for Sydney as hard as we did," Ms. Webb-Mayhew said.

For more information on the foundation, go to www.sydneymeaghanmf.org.